There are various types of tools which are available to cut and strip insulated conductive wires. Basically, the operation consists in initially cutting a wire and then in removing, from one end portion of the cut wire, the insulation covering the conductive portion of the wire. The end of the wire with the insulation removed is wrapped onto a post of an electrical conductor, such as a terminal board, a printed circuit board, or the like.
In practice, the operator uses a tool which cuts one end of the wire and makes an incision in the insulation of the wire at a given distance from the cut end thereof. The operator must then exerts a manual pull so that the insulation extending from the incised location to the cut end may be broken and stripped off the wire. This operation in some cases is carried out over 800 times per day and has resulted in what is known scientifically as cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) in operators. This is due principally in the efforts needed to cause the breaking of the insulation prior to is removal.